Dissolutioned Moments - Promptober 2018
by irma66
Summary: Drabbles inspired by Adorkable Author's Promptober 2018, all contained within the Dissolutioned universe. I already have Dissolutioned Moments for excerpts of Logan & Veronica's life in this universe, but they're full length one shots. These are more drabble-sized, & if any of them inspire something longer at a later date, I'll publish those in DM, referencing back to this project.
1. Day 1: Flashlight

**July 31, 2008**

"Oh crap, where are my shoes? Veronica, what did you do with the flashlight?"

A sleepy grumble sounded beside him. It's not like he could see her, in the pitch black of the tent, but she definitely sounded grouchy.

He couldn't really blame her, it was probably three in the morning, but he needed to pee, and he did not find the idea of plunging off into the Shenandoah River in the moonless night to be a good way to end what had otherwise been a very nice day. Rafting with Sam and Mady and the rest of the gang from last year's wilderness trip, a surprisingly tasty dinner over the fire, and then naked time with Veronica in their tent, which he'd deliberately set a ways off from the fire pit to ensure a little privacy. Nope. With all that going for him, he was not gonna go out and take a wrong step. Which meant...

"Baby, I'm sorry, but I need the flashlight." He finally put a hand on one of his shoes, slipping it on, and then felt around for the other.

"Why are you asking me?" The voice was still grumpy, but more alert.

"You had it last." He slid the second shoe on, and turned to face her, on his knees, feeling around in the bulky double sleeping bag. His hands found Veronica easily, they always did, but when he patted around her, he came up with nothing.

"I put it down right inside the door so it would be easy to find. Now stop mauling me unless you mean it."

He leaned down to kiss somewhere near where her voice was coming from. "I'll be right back in and then I'll maul you in all your favorite ways."

"I hope your aim's better when you get outside. That was my eyeball."

"I'll do my best." He crawled over toward where he knew the door was, feeling as he went for a cold metal cylinder. His head had brushed into the nylon of the tent wall when he finally found what he was looking for and flipped it on.

"Ugh." The flash of light was bright in his eyes, but he flipped the illuminated end down and reached for the zipper that was now easy to find. As he stood, he heard Veronica snort a laugh.

"What?" He swiveled to shine the light toward her, taking care to not shine it directly in her eyes. She was sitting up, snickering, her hand over her mouth.

"You're going out there like that?"

"What?" he repeated, frowning at her. "I didn't want to go out barefoot and step on something sharp."

"But you're fine going out there naked?"

He glanced down, with a half smile. "Yeah, why not? No one else should be out there and I don't need clothes for what I'm going out to do. I'll only be a minute. And once I'm back, I don't want to have to waste any time getting undressed again before I can get to the mauling."

She shook her head, still grinning. "Okay, if you say so. Flash who you want."

"Like you'd be saying that if you really thought that would happen." He struck a ridiculous pose for her, while shining the flashlight over himself like a roving spotlight. "I'm well aware this sight is for your eyes only."

She nodded, giving him a lascivious up and down, and he laughed, then turned back toward the door. "Back in a flash."

"Like you said, you better hope not."


	2. Day 2: Closed

**January 10, 2013**

The baby closed her eyes and Veronica sighed in relief, as quietly as possible. She wasn't going to risk waking her. They'd been home from the hospital for two days, and Veronica was certain she hadn't slept for more than fifteen minutes at a time since then. And those fifteen minute stretches had been pretty few and far between.

She'd just barely started to doze again after the last feeding, when she'd heard Robin start to snuffle in her bassinet. It was all Veronica could do to not burst into tears when she heard her. And when the baby latched on, she really did start to cry. _How does a toothless creature bite so hard?_

It was maybe another minute after Robin's eyes closed before her mouth went slack. She was pretty sure it had only been a few minutes of torture this time, but all that meant was that it wouldn't be long before the baby would be awake and ready to eat again. Veronica took in a deep breath and stood, carrying her newborn daughter back to the bassinet, then grabbing a fresh nursing pad out of her dresser drawer. She tucked it into the cup of her bra and hooked it back up, then tried to rearrange the slits in her nursing nightgown so she wouldn't give everyone in the living room a show. She wasn't going to get any sleep anyway, and it was the middle of the afternoon. She might as well get up and visit with her company. Dad was going to stay the rest of the week, and Carol was probably going to be here until Veronica told her she could go, probably around the time of Robin's first birthday at the rate things were going, but Alicia had only been able to get away from Neptune for a couple of days, and she was heading back tomorrow. Veronica wanted to see her as much as she could before she had to leave.

She slipped her robe on and then moved back over to peek at her baby once more. Even with the complete lack of sleep, and the nipples that felt like they should be bleeding, and the unfortunate EVERYTHING that was going on from her waist down, the surge of love that she felt as she looked at their tiny daughter made her breathless. The head of dark hair had to have come from Logan, since Veronica's blonde hair had made her look bald until she was two. Behind the closed lids, Robin's eyes were blue, but whether that would last or not was anyone's guess. The tiny bow of a mouth, which, even in sleep, was pursing rhythmically, as if she was dreaming of the next time she would get to nurse.

"Why are you up?"

Logan's voice at the door was only a whisper, but Veronica flinched regardless, fearing he would wake the baby. Robin didn't stir though, and Veronica could breathe again.

"Your daughter eats like a linebacker—"

"Or like her mother." He moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her temple, then tucking his chin over her shoulder to look down at the baby with her.

"—and she was just up again for another meal."

He reached around her, fingers stretching for the baby, but Veronica slapped at his hand.

"For the love of all that is holy, please don't wake her up." She turned to face him, leaning her forehead against his chest. "I'm begging you."

He pulled her closer, cradling her head. "Lay back down, Veronica. You're about to drop."

"It doesn't matter," she replied, tears threatening again. "As soon as I fall asleep, she wakes up. There's no point."

"Yes, there is. You need to rest. Come on." He led her back to the bed and tucked her into it, kissing her gently on the forehead, then sitting beside her.

"Go to sleep, and when she wakes up, I'll get her."

"But she'll be hungry."

"Maybe, maybe not. When you get her, she knows she can eat. When I do, she doesn't expect it."

"So I'm just a cafeteria to her." A small part of her brain knew she was being ridiculous, but the rest of her wasn't buying it, and the tears started to leak out of the corners of her eyes.

"Oh baby." Logan dropped another kiss on her forehead, then against the tear tracks on both sides, then on her frowning mouth. "Go to sleep, please. If she really is hungry, I'll bring her to you, but first, she can spend some time getting to know her grandparents. Okay?"

"Okay," she grumbled, as he kissed her again. "No sneaking in formula while I'm sleeping."

"Nope. I know the rules." He stroked her cheek. "Love you."

Her eyes slipped closed. "Love you too."


	3. Day 3: Demonstration

**October 1, 2008**

"Remind me again why we're going to this thing?"

Mac sighed and shook her head. "Support for Prop 2, Veronica. PHAT's trying to raise awareness about the plight of farm animals so they can get the proposition passed in November. This demonstration is to rally the support of the Hearst student body." She waved the flyer in her hand, then folded it in half and brandished it at Veronica. "This is the size of the cage of an egg-laying hen. And then they stack them on top of each other. They burn their beaks off so they don't peck each other, Bond."

"Nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh, stop right now." Veronica cringed and shrugged her shoulders up around her ears, like she could somehow un-hear Mac's explanation. "We're not gonna see anything about that, right? I can't watch videos like that. No. Just...no. I will leave."

"I don't expect any videos tonight. I can't promise there'll be no signs though."

Veronica shuddered. "I see even a single beak-less chicken, I'm out."

"Duly noted." They were nearing a crowd outside the Student Union. "Thanks for coming, Veronica."

"No problem. Gotta support the chickens. Need 'em for my breakfast."

Mac burst into nervous laughter. "Probably want to keep that sentiment to yourself."

"Does that mean I can't talk about bacon either?"

"Oh, dear God."

"Hey." Veronica stopped, peering up at the Student Union steps where the PHAT leaders were gathering. After a moment, she glanced suspiciously at Mac. "I know that guy."

"Yeah," Mac replied evenly. "We both do. You worked a case two years ago and we met him."

"And you dated him." Veronica spun at Mac, pointing an accusatory finger. "That's why I'm here. You couldn't very well bring Dick with you to meet up with an ex-boyfriend."

"That's not why you're here," Mac protested. "Dick cares even less about the ethical treatment of animals than you do. Of the people I usually interact with, you were the least offensive option so I wouldn't have to come alone."

Veronica burst into laughter. "Least offensive option. Wow. That's something to aspire to. Way to make a girl feel wanted." She threw an arm around Mac's shoulders. "So, spill. Did ex-boyfriend—"

"Bronson."

"—yeah, that's right, Bronson, did he invite you here himself? Or are you really into the plight of the chickens?"

"It's a legit issue, Veronica. If you're going to insist on eating eggs, you should at least go cage-free."

"I think we already do. Logan does all the grocery shopping online and I'm pretty sure he's got a genetic pre-disposition that makes him buy the most expensive version of any given item." She gestured toward Bronson. "Come on, don't think you can divert attention from the topic at hand. Did you get a personal invitation to this thing?"

"It's not like that. We've both got classes in the same hall, that let out at the same time, so sometimes we bump into each other and talk. This demonstration is a big deal for PHAT, so he asked if I could come and bring a friend or two. There's supposed to be press here, and if they were only able to pull in a tiny crowd, they'd probably get ignored next time they tried to get any publicity."

"Uh huh." Veronica nodded thoughtfully. "So there's nothing going on here that's gonna end up with Dick whiny and hanging around my house all the time, right? Like when he was trying to get you to move in with him and you kept saying no? He was attached to my husband like a limpet until you finally agreed. You know how I feel about Dick who won't get out of my house."

Mac snorted. "You've made your feelings on that subject abundantly clear. And that was almost a year ago, Veronica. Stop worrying, everything's fine."

"Okay, okay." Veronica shrugged, looking a little apologetic. "I just had to check. Can't have you dumping Logan's BFF. Too much risk of him ending up crashed on my couch."

"You know, if I ever start to feel dissatisfied in my relationship, I'll try to remember to keep your needs in mind and just suffer through."

"Excellent, thanks." Veronica looked at Mac with a very serious face, then they both burst into laughter. "All right, come on. The chickens need us."


	4. Day 4: Cashmere

**January 19, 2012**

Logan tugged his cashmere scarf closer around his neck as he looked out the car window. It was only like ten, maybe fifteen, feet from the car to the back door of their Rhode Island rental house. He wasn't going to freeze to death in that short of a distance. Right?

Veronica had made jokes about New England winters when he first made the choice of Roger Williams to pursue his Master's in Forensic Psychology. It hadn't been as bad as all that through November and December, some snow, definitely colder than they were used to, but not unbearable. It was a pain to have to scrape ice off his windows before he could go to school some mornings, but he'd found a service that kept their steep driveway salted, sanded, and shoveled and everything had been fine. Plus, it was so pretty. Like a painting he could chase Veronica out into, then kiss her warm again. He'd had absolutely no beef with winter in Rhode Island. Then January came.

He sucked in one more deep breath of heated air, then pulled the scarf up to cover the lower half of his face, turned the Rover off and grabbed his backpack before lurching out into the cold, resisting the urge to bolt for the house. He knew he could only move so quickly across the driveway without risk of falling and breaking his neck, but years of swimming and surfing got him inside the house before he had to breathe in any of the air that was cooled to a temperature in the teens. Only his cheeks above the cashmere got flash-frozen, not his lungs, which was definitely a win.

He slammed the door shut and drew in a new breath. The enclosed porch wasn't a lot warmer than outdoors, but it did hold off the wind chill. He stomped his feet as he unlocked the back door, then stepped into the entryway, closing his eyes as the toasty, aromatic air started his thaw. He closed the door and leaned against it for a moment, smiling at the warmth that radiated all through him, not just from the temperature, but from the feeling that he still always got, even after nearly five years of marriage, stepping into their house. _Their home._

"Logan?" The source of his contented feelings shouted his name and he grinned.

"It is I, your beloved husband," he pronounced grandly. "I have survived the elements and come home to you again." He shrugged out of his winter coat and hung it on the hook on the wall. In a more casual voice, he called, "Smells good in here."

Veronica appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the entry, apron covering her clothes and a spoon in hand. "You can thank Carol for that. All these frozen crock pot meals she made are really coming in handy when it's too cold to make you take me out to dinner."

Logan sat on the little bench to pull off his heavy boots. "Thank you, Carol. But I think I might smell cookies too."

She smiled and stepped toward him. "I think you might." He dropped the boot under the bench and stretched up toward her. She closed the distance and gave him a kiss. "Welcome home, husband."

"Mmm, thank you, wife. Hey, you know, good news about the cookies. My professors are starting to make noise about needing more incentive to keep giving me A's." He settled back and pulled off the other boot, then reached for his indoor shoes. One thing about real winter, it made footwear more complicated. Wandering around barefoot really wasn't an option these days, no matter how roasty toasty Veronica kept the house.

"You know, if my cookies are what's driving your educational success, I think they're going to need to put my name on that diploma too."

"I'll check into that." He stood and followed her into the kitchen. As expected, her cooling racks were loaded with cookies, both snickerdoodle and chocolate chip. "Wow, you were busy today."

"I was all ready to go down to the creek to shoot photos of the weird way the little waterfall froze, but I just couldn't bring myself to go out there. I really need the mercury to hit above the twenty mark before I go out."

Logan laughed and reached for a cookie. "So you redirected your energy to culinary activity. I'm good with that."

"Don't ruin your dinner with cookies." She peeked under the crockpot lid, frowned, then replaced the lid. "I think maybe another hour or so."

"Okay." He moved up behind her and rested his hands on her hips, stooping to kiss her neck. "Think I can talk you upstairs with me? I've got a busy weekend of school work coming, but a free hour before dinner? Sounds like time to preemptively burn off some of these cookie calories."

"It won't be entirely preemptive for me," she said as she turned out of his arms, stepping back and smirking at him.

"Preemptive, post-emptive..." He shrugged when her eyebrows made it clear she was questioning whether that was a word at all. "Whatever." He flipped his scarf off and tossed it around her, pulling her close again. "It's no fair to make cookies unless you're prepared to help me keep them from going straight to my hips."

She burst into laughter. "That is the lamest rationale for sex I have ever heard you give."

"And that's saying something."

"All right, come on then. I refuse to be responsible for you getting hippy."


	5. Day 5: Harvest

**June 3, 2020**

"Daddeeee, look at my 'mato."

Logan turns from where he's watering his corn to see his four-year-old daughter's prize. "That is a good lookin' tomato, Reenie." He tosses the hose onto an open space, and moves to where she is cradling a tomato that is the size and shape of a miniature pumpkin, but is colored dark red, with brownish-green stripes. He watches her sniff it, then frown.

"This is _not_ choc'late."

He laughs and crouches next to her. "That's just its name, sweetie. Chocolate stripes tomato. See?" He traces his finger on the dark coloration, smiling at her encouragingly. The tomato is big enough that she's using both hands to hold it, but he watches her stroke her thumb against a stripe.

"Not choc'late," she repeats.

"Nope. But tasty anyway." He leans forward and takes a bite, growling a little when he does it, which makes her squeal, then giggle.

"Daddy!"

"You try it."

She wrinkles her nose, but lifts the tomato to her mouth and takes a tiny bite. Then another, bigger, and this time with a growl to match his. "Yummy, Daddy."

"I know." He takes another bite. "You picked a good one, Reen."

"Thanks." She bites again, a big one that makes juice run down her chin. Logan laughs and snatches the last bite as she turns her head to the side to wipe the mess against her shoulder. He pulls her into his arms and stands, gesturing back toward the corn.

"You've got your tomatoes, and in another month, we'll have all the corn on the cob we want," he says and she claps, then twists toward Veronica's favorite trees.

"When are the 'vacados?" she asks.

"It's probably a couple more months before we can harvest the avo-cados." He says the word slowly and deliberately. "Probably when we come home from Virginia."

"With my pony!" Reenie claps again and he shakes his head ruefully.

"We don't bring our ponies home, Reen, remember?"

She scowls and shakes her head. "No! I need my pony!"

"Our ponies always go back to live with their mommies and daddies and brothers and sisters. You don't want someone taking you to live away from all of us, right?"

She huffs out a long breath, and for a moment, it looks like she's trying to decide. Then she snuggles closer and shakes her head against his chest.

"No, guess not."

Logan chuckles and kisses her head. "That's a relief." He lifts his free hand to wave toward their tiny grove of apple trees. "You definitely want to be here when it's apple harvest time, Reen. Do you remember? Mommy and Gramma Alicia make us tons of apple pies."

"With the crumblies?"

"Yep, some of them have crumblies." He tickles her belly and she giggles, then squirms to get down. As he watches, she skips back to the tomato plants.

"Come on, Daddy. More choc'late 'matoes."

He grins and follows. "Yes, ma'am. More choc'late 'matoes, coming up."

* * *

A/N:

I was hoping to work this reminder in, but since I couldn't, I'm going to cheat, and tell instead of show.

From Dissolutioned, chapter 13...

 _Logan successfully got Veronica through the gate by 7:15 the next morning. He chatted briefly with Lance Corporal Jackson Riley and then headed over to the Stafford Farmers Market that they'd found on Logan's first weekend in Virginia. He'd fallen into a bit of a routine on the weeks he didn't go out exploring the Atlantic seaboard and was as shocked as anyone to find that he enjoyed wandering around the different booths talking to the vendors and bringing home the various wares they had to offer. No matter what else he purchased, he always brought home apples and he had decided when he was looking at homes for sale online that week that he wanted to grow his own apple trees. He planned to pull as much information about the care of his future trees as he could from the farmers at the market. Veronica was never much of a fruit or veggie kind of eater but he thought it might be fun to grow some other stuff too, even if it was only tomatoes. She was always good for a tomato on her burger or a BLT and what were tomatoes if not a primary component of Veronica's favorite type of food, Italian?_

And apparently, that plan worked out.


	6. Day 6: Exposed

_A/N: We've been in pretty fluffy story mode all week, but today's going darker. Warning that we're going back to some canon issues of non-con. Even their idealized Dissolutioned lives couldn't be perfect._

* * *

 **July 5, 2025**

Veronica slipped through the door and leaned against it, rubbing her temples to try to relieve the pounding. Logan's pacing stopped short in front of her, but his hand wringing continued.

"How's she doing?"

She nodded. "She's doing okay. She threw up once, but she's sleeping, real sleep, now."

He spun away, hands in his hair, pacing again, before thumping up against the wall opposite Lilly's door.

"You're sure, though? Nothing happened to her?"

Veronica moved to stand in front of him, her eyebrows raised sharply.

"She got drugged, Logan. Isn't that enough for one Fourth of July party?"

He threw his hands up. "You know that's not what I mean. Are you sure...I mean...how do you know..."

"I am reasonably certain nothing else happened to her, Logan. You heard what Cat said. She could tell Lilly was not acting normal, and she got them both out of there. Lilly didn't vanish from the party, or get found unconscious down the beach somewhere. It sounds like her best friend was looking out for her and knew not to just put the weird behavior off to regular partying." She reached for both of his hands and held them still.

"Once she was more with it, I did...ask her some things. Underwear where it belongs—" Logan moaned and tried to pull away, but she held him firmly in place. "—nothing sore, or bleeding. I really don't think this got a chance to get worse."

"Oh, thank God." She couldn't stop him as he slumped and slid down the wall. "Why didn't she want me in there with you guys then? When she woke up, and got so upset that I was in there with you...I was so afraid that meant...meant...maybe she was remembering something, and a man in the room...maybe it frightened her."

Veronica shook her head, huffing a sad chuckle, then sat down beside him on the floor. "I wonder sometimes if your psych degree isn't more trouble than it's worth. No. I don't think she wanted you out of the room because of transference. I think she's embarrassed that you know she let herself get drugged at a party."

"Let herself?!" His voice was loud and indignant and she held up a hand and shushed him. "Let herself?" he repeated in a lower tone. "This is not her fault. It's about whatever asshole did this. Did she have any ideas about who—"

"Logan, stop."

He fell silent, but when she didn't say anything more, he elbowed her gently. "Sorry, it's just upsetting. Tell me what you think."

"Okay, well, you know we've been talking to her about...party safety, I guess, for lack of a better term, since she was in junior high. Just like we're starting to talk to Robin about it now, right?"

"Yes, of course," he replied. "Don't accept drinks unless you see them poured, don't leave your drink unattended, be aware of your surroundings..."

"Right. And what happened tonight?" She leaned her head against his shoulder. "In spite of all those warnings, here we are."

Logan moved his arm to wrap around her. "That's not her fault."

"I know, but that's sometimes a hard fact to really FEEL, when you're the one something's happened to. Blame is about the easiest thing to accept in this kind of situation. You know that; I know you do." She leaned into him and rested her hand against his chest, wanting to soften the impact of her next words. "It's the same reason you blamed yourself whenever Aaron hurt you."

He stiffened, but only a moment passed before he nodded. "Okay, I get what you're saying. So why—"

"She's not thinking theoretically right now about accepting blame that doesn't belong to her. She's only thinking about this moment, what just happened to her, regardless of everything we've talked about through the years. And it's natural that she's afraid you'll be mad that even after all of the talks, it happened anyway."

"Then why not you too?"

"She knows it happened to me, so it's easier for her to trust that I'll understand."

His response was more pronounced this time; he jerked away, turning to look down at her.

"You told her what happened to you?"

Veronica shook her head, very slightly. "Not about...high school, but I have told her about when Moe dosed me...during the rape investigation at Hearst. I was trying to make her understand how easy it was for something to happen. That it pays to be alert and careful all the time, not just out at a club or a party, because he put something in my soda when I left it alone for like a minute, in a crowded Food Court, and somehow no one even noticed. I wanted her to get that it doesn't have to be in a particular environment, and it can take seconds."

He kissed her temple and slouched back against the wall again. "Okay, that makes sense. That is a good lesson about how easy it is for something to happen. And I guess it's reasonable that she took that information and figured you wouldn't blame her, since it's happened to you. Did you tell her I wouldn't blame her either?"

"This isn't about you, Logan. Her main issue right now is not how you feel."

"Sorry, I get it. I just hate that she doesn't feel like she can trust me. If Cat had taken her to her house instead, or if, God forbid, something had actually happened to her, beyond the drugs, I mean, do you think we would ever have found out this even happened?"

"I don't know." Veronica pushed herself back to her feet. "I'm gonna look in on her, and then I think I'm going back to bed for a while at least. I'm glad the other kids are all camped out at Dad and Alicia's after fireworks. This was a lot easier without them here."

"Yeah. Can I come in too, do you think? I just want to see that she's okay."

"I think so probably. Come on." She extended her hand to pull him up, then turned to peek into Lilly's bedroom.

"She's asleep still." Veronica moved to Lilly's bed and sat on the edge as gently as possible, taking Lilly's hand in her own and stretching to smooth the girl's hair off her face. "Her breathing seems normal. I don't think it's dangerous for her to just sleep it off here. She'll probably have a bit of a headache in the morning, but otherwise, it seems like she should be fine."

"Thank God." Logan leaned past Veronica to stroke Lilly's hair, then bent to kiss her forehead. "Not your fault," he said in a firm voice, then straightened, and kissed the top of Veronica's head.

"I'm going to bed," he said, now in a strangled whisper, and left the room.

Veronica watched him go as she thought about his last question. If things had ended differently tonight, would they have ever known this had happened?

She wondered. She'd tried to report what had happened to her and been shut down immediately, and after that, she'd never considered telling her father. Part of it was not wanting him to be disappointed in the mess she'd gotten herself into, much like what she assumed Lilly was feeling when she'd cried harder as Logan tried to comfort her earlier. Part of it had been concern over what her dad might do if he knew. It wasn't like he hadn't already blown up his life pursuing justice for the original Lilly; what might he have done for Veronica herself? She'd cut Logan off earlier when he started to speculate about who had done this, but she knew it would come up again. She'd deliberately kept her father from the knowledge of what had happened to avoid him doing anything crazy that might have been more damaging to them back then.

In the end, the bottom line was that she had decided that Dad did not need to be exposed to the grim reality of her rape for his own good. But now, from a parent's perspective, was that what she would have wanted in the same situation? Would she want Lilly to have crept home, pretending things were fine, and never let them know what had happened to her, for their own good? Whether they could help her 'fix' anything or not, wouldn't they want to know so they could make sure she was okay, even if all they could do was comfort her as she cried?

Veronica stood abruptly and straightened Lilly's comforter before leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"We love you, sweetie," she whispered, then turned for the door. She had some things to think about.


	7. Day 7: Throw Pillow

_A/N: Back to the fluff._

* * *

May 22, 2031

Logan isn't sure what sent Veronica on the re-decorating spree, but it doesn't actually matter. Yeah, twenty-four years is a long time to take getting comfortable with frivolous spending, but if she's finally embraced having money, he's got no arguments at all. Except for with the pool furniture.

Okay, not even the pool furniture itself; it's fine. The deck chairs rock, which is awesome, and a chaise lounge is pretty much a chaise lounge, especially at this price point where everything's solid and well made and adjusts in about a thousand ways. No, really, his issue is more with the cushions that Veronica chose.

"But they're so soft and comfy," his wife is currently arguing from her position stretched out along one of the lounges in question. She's wearing a bikini, and he knows that choice was made solely in the interest of winning this argument. "I checked out at least a dozen different ones, Logan. These are gorgeous, and comfortable, and they're a smart design."

She bangs the back of her head repeatedly against the cushioned chaise, and he can't help but watch the corresponding jiggle of her breasts... _which Godammit, she knows._

"Look at this, Logan. Head and neck support built right in, but not so much that you can't lay on your stomach. That means no more having to go find one of those stupid throw pillows when you want to nap. You know they're always stashed somewhere obscure and usually on the other side of the pool whenever you need them. And even once you've got one, trying to squish or roll it into a good shape to put it under your head is a major pain because they're so big."

He manages to raise his eyes to her face, and the way she is looking at him, _I own you, buddy, this isn't even a challenge_ , makes him laugh. She's right, of course, and he's man enough to admit it. But his actual argument rises in his mind again as his attention is caught by a couple of newcomers to poolside.

Colby Casablancas, Dick and Mac's daughter, two months shy of fifteen, comes through the gate, which is being held open by Logan and Veronica's just turned fifteen year old son, Danny. She is arguing something, Logan isn't even sure what, with Dick's vehemence, but Mac's rational intelligence. Danny isn't even arguing back, he's just watching her and nodding, smiling at her in an adoring way that is embarrassing to watch even at a distance, mostly because he's pretty sure Danny got that look from Logan himself.

Logan sighs, and wonders, not for the first time, why he didn't take Dick up on his offer of a dowry on the day Colby was born. For most of their lives, he'd thought the idea was silly, since Danny and Colby, along with Wallace and Jeannie's twins, Hank and Steven, had been an inseparable quartet from the first time they all got put down on a beach blanket together. But in the last couple of years, he's watched the look in Danny's eyes whenever Colby was around and hoped like crazy that she wasn't going to end up breaking his little boy's heart.

"I can't believe that I'm going to end up being related to Dick Casablancas." Veronica's quiet voice broke through his reverie.

"It's a little soon for that, don't you think?" Logan asks, although he's pleased that she seems to be thinking the same thing he is.

"Maybe, but they're both really googly-eyed. It's nauseating." She lifts a hand to him and he takes it, sitting beside her on the chaise. "He looks just like you."

"You're saying I'm nauseating?"

"A little." She shrieks a laugh as he starts to tickle her and they thrash around on the chaise for a moment before Colby's voice carries across the pool.

"Knock it off, you guys. Get a room."

Veronica laughs and settles down under Logan's arms. "She is her father's daughter." In a louder voice, she calls back, "It's our house. We do what we want," and laughs louder as the kids groan in disgust, but then Danny pokes Colby in the side and the shrieking starts on that side of the pool as he makes a run for it and she gives chase.

After a moment of watching Danny duck and weave as he evades capture, Veronica lays her palm against Logan's chest and gives him a pat.

"Okay, so what are you even complaining about?" She lifts her hand and begins to write her name on his pecs. "I haven't heard an actual argument yet to explain your issues with my choices."

"Keep that up and you're going to get one," he says and she squints at him in confusion, but when he tips his head south, and she sees the beginnings of a tent in his swim trunks, she gasps and starts to laugh.

"Oh my God, that's what all those throw pillows were for. I never understood why you and Duncan were constantly fondling pillows by the pool. It seemed so stupid."

"You have no idea how relieved I am that you never figured it out. There is almost nothing more embarrassing than—"

He was interrupted by a large splash and they looked over to find Colby running up to the pool, where Danny was now treading water. "What are you doing? You said we weren't swimming," she calls and Danny ducks under the water and swims away.

"And that's what you do when you don't have a throw pillow," Logan says knowingly, and Veronica blanches as she hides her face in his shoulder.

"Fine, get your pillows. Just make sure they match everything else."


	8. Day 8: Patient

_A/N: Okay, this is definitely not fluff, although I don't know if it exactly qualifies as angst in your traditional fanfic way. It also seems very random and out-of-the blue unless you've read the Dissolutioned Moments chapter called Extending Family. This piece takes place about 6 months before that chapter._

 **April 8, 2019**

"I'm looking for patient room E1," Logan said. The attendant at the counter looked up, his face sympathetic. Probably the permanent expression of everyone here, given the nature of this facility.

"Down that hall, first room on the right."

"Thanks."

Logan followed the gestured instructions, taking his time; he was not looking forward to this visit. He stood in front of the door for a moment before rapping, and he waited until he heard an invitation to enter before stepping inside.

The room was stark, not loaded with flowers the way the hospital had been. The only exception was a drawing of flowers pinned to the wall opposite Duncan's bed that Logan recognized as having been done by Lilly shortly after the accident.

"Logan, thank you for coming." Celeste Kane's voice was as cool and detached as ever. She remained seated at a small desk, a laptop open on top of it, just beyond the hospital bed where Duncan lay, tubes and wires attached to his head and arms.

"Umm, sure." He took a step closer to the bed, resting his hand on the mattress. "So, you asked to see me. Jake said—"

"Jake doesn't know what he's talking about," Celeste interrupted, her voice hard and angry. "There are still two doctors coming next week. I'm confident one of them will be able to repair the spinal cord damage. I am not letting Jake pull the plug on my son."

"I understand." Unable to stop himself, Logan reached out to touch Duncan's foot. He knew it was morbid, but the absolute stillness was agitating. The urge to shake the form under the blanket that was once his best friend, wake him up, make him speak, was nearly overwhelming. "I'd be doing the same thing if I were in your place."

Jake had, in fact, been very clear when Logan had spoken to him the day before that all the specialists were in agreement that there was no brain activity, and no way to fix that. He'd been angry that Celeste was continuing to 'torture' Duncan with pointless life support, but Logan understood perfectly why Celeste wasn't able to give up until she'd exhausted all of her options. "So what can I do for you, Celeste?"

"I think things are stable enough here for Lilly to come for a visit. I wanted to make arrangements with you."

 _You made me come here to make arrangements?_ "Of course, all you had to do was call. She's been wanting to come see her dad. She understands that he's not going to be responsive to her, but—"

"We'll see. I spoke to a specialist who think that Lilly being here might be the thing that triggers him to wake up." For the first time, there was a hint of life in Celeste's voice. "He's available tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 PM. Does that work for you?"

"Hang on. I'm all for an opportunity for her to see him if she wants. I think it will be helpful for her to spend time with him now in case things don't...improve, in the long run. But a specialist who thinks she'll be a trigger to wake him, like he's just sleeping? What is this going to entail?"

"Nothing unseemly." The edge was back to her voice. "The doctor will just have her speak to him, certain phrases, trying to reach his conscious mind."

Logan's mouth dropped open. He knew that not a single doctor who'd consulted so far had found that Duncan still had a 'conscious mind'. "Has this doctor evaluated him? Reviewed the brain scans?"

"He's not a traditional physician, Logan."

He shuffled further up toward the head of the bed, moving the hand on Duncan's blanket-covered foot to his hand. He traced a D and a K there, trying to decide what to say next.

"Have you gone through this process with your non-traditional physician? That seems like it might be traumatic for a thirteen year old girl, especially when it's not successful."

"IF it's not successful, if." She was angry now, and Logan almost preferred that. It made it easier to say what needed to be said. "And yes, I have tried it. Jake refused. Of course." She huffed in agitation, and Logan almost smiled at the memory of the elder Lilly purposely aggravating Celeste to produce just that response.

"Celeste, I'm not really sure this would be good for Lilly. The odds of this actually producing results seem slim, given the diagnostics and all of the consultants who have seen him so far, and it could really be damaging to her if nothing happens and she decides she's to blame. I absolutely would support a visit, but this..."

"It's not your choice, Logan. My granddaughter is simply staying with your family in this crisis. You don't get to deny me this."

"Actually, it is my choice, Celeste, and I do get to deny you. Duncan's wishes were made very clear. Veronica and I are Lilly's legal guardians if he is incapacitated or deceased. That means we get to decide what is in her best interests. And this does not seem to be that." Logan stopped tracing letters on Duncan's skin and clasped his cold, still hand.

"Look, we'll do anything that would be helpful. I think Veronica even would be agreeable to coming and working with your 'doctor'." He took a deep breath. He didn't like the idea and he knew Veronica wouldn't either, but if this was something real, he didn't want them to lose a chance. He just wasn't willing to gamble with Lilly. "She was always important to Duncan, even after they were apart."

"My son does not need the help of Veronica Mars."

"You'd rather give up on him than let her try to help? If that's the case, it doesn't sound like this is important enough to experiment with Lilly." He squeezed Duncan's hand, willing his friend to respond, but there was nothing, and Logan stood. "I'm going to go, Celeste. If we can bring Lilly to see him, let us know. We're trying to keep her schedule normal, so after school is best."

"Logan, wait." For the first time, Celeste rose from her chair, crossing to the bed on the opposite side from where Logan stood. She reached for Duncan's other hand, and he could see now that she was shaking, a sign of weakness that unnerved him more than anything else they'd talked about so far. "You're right. You know I hate it, but Veronica still means a great deal to Duncan."

"Hey, I've never been all that keen on my best friend being in love with my wife, so you and I kinda have that in common." He tried to chuckle, but couldn't. "Look, how about this? Veronica and I will come in with Lilly, tomorrow at 4:00 PM, and work with your doctor. I'll tell you straight out, I'm not optimistic, _at all_ , but if there is a way to reach him, I don't want to lose the chance. Between the three of us, four, if you'll participate too, maybe something could happen. But that way, if the long shot doesn't pay off, Lilly doesn't have the burden of having failed alone. I won't agree otherwise."

Celeste looked at him, considering. "You would both do that?"

"Like I said, if there's a chance it will help, then we will."

"Then we'll see you at 4:00 PM tomorrow." She turned, finding the nearest chair and pulling it closer to the bed. "If you don't mind, could you excuse us? I want to spend some time with my son."

"Absolutely." Logan squeezed Duncan's hand again, then turned for the door. "See you tomorrow."


	9. Day 9: Shadow

_A/N: After the heaviness of yesterday, we're going fully fluffy today._

* * *

 **November 16, 2021**

Alicia was barely sitting on the sofa again when a voice called to her from the hallway.

"Need a drink, Gramma."

Keith chuckled as he put his book open face down on the arm of his easy chair. "I got this one." He stood and turned toward the hall, fists on his hips, channeling his best Sheriff Grampa look. "Hank Fennel...didn't you have a drink right before you went to bed?"

"Thirsty again, Grampa," the little boy answered.

"Really?" Keith crossed the room and scooped up the refugee from bedtime. "So if you have more to drink now, how long do you think it will be before you're up to go to the bathroom?"

"Mmm..I dunno."

"Me too, Grampa. Thirsty," another voice chimed in right next to Keith, and Alicia groaned.

"Danny, you just had a drink. No more tonight."

"You guys left Stevie in the bedroom by himself? Is he actually sleeping?" Keith turned to look down the hall and saw exactly what he'd expected to, his third three-year-old grandson standing in the door of the bedroom that they were all supposed to be sleeping in tonight.

 _Keith had agreed to watch Hank and Steven while Wallace and Jeannie went to an FBI event, and separately, Alicia had agreed to watch Danny while Logan and Veronica took the girls to a movie. When they'd realized they'd double-booked baby-sitting duty, they hadn't worried; the boys were practically inseparable anyway and it sounded fun to have them all together. And it was. Pizza, Candyland, Lion King: all huge hits. Then it was time for bed, and none of them would stay down._

"Why are _you_ up, Stevie?" Keith asked and the boy skittered toward him, latching his arms around Keith's leg.

"Lonely."

Keith coughed over the laugh that was trying to burst out of him. "Okay, well, pretty quick everyone's gonna be back in bed and that won't be a problem anymore. Now, you three miscreants get in the kitchen, you're all getting your last drink of the night." He set Hank down next to his twin brother and cousin and all three boys raced for the kitchen.

"Keith, you can't give them more to drink. We're gonna be up with them most of the night, and that's hoping no one has an accident."

"I've got an idea for that. Come on."

They followed the sound of giggling and found the boys clustered together beside the sink. "Nope guys, sit down at your table." They dashed to the kid-sized table that had been in place since Robin was about this age, and sat in their usual spots. One chair remained empty.

"Where Colby?" Stevie asked as he frowned at the empty chair.

"She's sleeping at her own house," Alicia answered, her, "Thank God," uttered under her breath and heard only by Keith, who nodded in agreement as he pulled three small plastic glasses out of the cupboard.

"Okay, here's the deal, boys," he began, putting the glasses on the table where, predictably, the race to get the color of their choice began immediately. "This is a contest."

"I win," announced Hank, and Alicia began to giggle.

"The winner," Keith corrected, moving back to the table with the water pitcher from the fridge, "is the one of you who can drink the very smallest drink."

"I win," said Stevie. "Not thirsty."

"Nope, to win you have to take a drink, but the very tiniest of tiny drinks." He began to fill the glasses, right to the very top. At the sight, Alicia cringed.

"We are going to have water everywhere."

"No, we're not, right, boys? Because we're going to be so super, super careful and we're not going to bump the table at all. Right?" A trio of voices eagerly agreed with him. "Can you get one more glass, babe? I need to show these boys how this is done."

"Okay," she responded, her skepticism obvious in her tone, "just know that you're cleaning this up."

"No problem." She handed him the extra glass and he took it, with a thank you kiss, then poured his glass full as well.

"All right, here we go, no hands, just mouth down to the top of the cup, and suck the water off the top. The one who still has the fullest glass after their drink wins." He lowered his mouth to the rim and made a loud slurping sound that made the boys laugh uproariously, and Alicia groan.

"Oh Keith, that is so gross."

"We're men, Gramma," he teased, "sometimes we're gonna be gross."

"Terrific. Where are my granddaughters?"

"So, is everyone ready?" Three little heads nodded eagerly as a chorus of "Yes!" echoed through the room. "Okay, ready, set, slurp!"

If the slurping noise when it was just Keith had been bad, it was even worse now, increased by the efforts of three enthusiastic three year olds. They seemed to forget at first that they were competing to drink the least, in the excitement of getting to make rude noises at their table, but then Danny sat up straight and threw up his hands.

"I win!"

Slurps from his cousins abruptly halted, replaced with groans of protest.

"It's not about who stopped first, it's about least consumed. Sit back, let's check those glasses."

After much deliberation, Stevie was declared the winner by a tiny margin, and the prize was announced.

"So now, for being the champion of drinking the least, Stevie gets to pick one more thing that we do tonight, and when that's done, everyone's going to bed and staying there. Gramma and Grampa too. Got it?"

"Hang on," Alicia protested, almost sounding like she meant it, "Why do I have to go to bed? I wasn't even in this gross contest."

"Don't be difficult, Gramma," Keith scolded. "You'll be out here all by yourself—"

"Sounds heavenly."

"—and I'll have no one to keep me company—"

"Sleep in our room, Grampa," Danny shouted.

"No, thanks anyway, but I think it's crowded enough in there already. Hopefully Gramma will change her mind and come keep me company in our room." He gave her a sly, sideways look, eyebrows raised, suggestive smile, and she laughed.

"I guess I can't have you in there sad and lonely."

"So what are we doing, Stevie?" Keith asked, now determined that this last minute activity would not last a long time.

The little boy crinkled his nose and tapped his chin as he thought, then he grinned and raised his hands over his head.

"Shadow puppets!"

The other two cheered and Keith rolled his eyes. He could only do a rabbit, a snail, and a bird (or a butterfly, depending on who was looking at it), but it didn't matter to this group. Inexplicably, they loved shadow puppets.

"Okay, then, let's clean up these cups and get with it." They all stood, but Alicia interrupted.

"I'll clean up the drinking contest and you guys can go do puppets. By the time you're done, I'll probably already be waiting for you in bed."

She crouched and held out her arms and the boys ran to her for what would hopefully be the last round of good night kisses. "Sweet dreams, sleep tight, see ya in the morning, love you, good night." When she was done with the five kiss routine for each grandson, she straightened and the boys ran for their room as Keith moved to put his arms around her.

"What about me? Do I get good night kisses too?"

She smiled at him with a twinkle in her eye. "If you can get them to stay in bed, I think there might be more than kisses in it for you."

* * *

 _A/N: There was a call for Keith smut after Ellie and I posted A Mars Family Vacation, and this doesn't quite get him there, but you know that it's happening, if these kids would just go to bed and stay there._


	10. Day 10: I Almost Forgot

**July 18, 2020**

Veronica waited her turn in valet parking, in absolutely no hurry to exit her car. _I could say something came up. Or I forgot. That one's practically true anyway…after Logan waking me up like he did, then breakfast in bed, he got me so relaxed, I almost forgot I had this scheduled. Damn him, distracting me so I couldn't spend the morning thinking of a decent excuse to cancel._

"Good afternoon, ma'am. Will you be checking in, or are you here for the day only?"

"Just here for lunch," she replied, putting the car in Park and releasing her seat belt.

The valet opened her door for her. "Very good. Do you need any instructions to find your way to whichever of our five fine dining establishments you will be visiting today?"

She laughed. "No, I'm very familiar with the Neptune Grand, thank you though." She traded her key fob for a valet ticket, and made her way inside.

The Grand had changed a lot through the years, but she still knew exactly where she was going. She and Logan had spent the first four months of their marriage, after Virginia, living in the Penthouse, while they located a home they could agree on, and then had a few necessary renovations done. Not to mention Senior year of high school, and the times that she and Logan had been 'on' during Freshman year at Hearst…she spent more time at the Grand in those periods than anywhere except maybe her own apartment.

Even after they moved into the house, and all through the years, the Grand was the primary site in town for large-scale dinners, fundraisers, or charity events, which meant that she was the de facto hostess for _Port Sûr_ Centers' gatherings here at least once a year. That made this location the nearest thing to home turf that she could think of, without offering up their actual personal spaces. She had no interest whatsoever in having this meeting in her home, or even at the Mars Investigation offices.

Veronica was still doubtful that anything was going to come of this anyway. She'd refused to even consider the idea for quite a while, and once she'd agreed, she'd cancelled on several occasions. If it hadn't been for Logan's low-key, but constant, encouragement, she wouldn't be here now. _And his sneakiness. If he would have let me out of bed this morning and gave me a chance to remember this was happening, I'd've bailed._

She reached the small bistro where she had reservations, and let the hostess lead her to a table on the patio. At least it was a pleasant environment, and a beautiful day. She really loved the Monte Cristo here too. _Gotta look for the positives, right? Even if nothing comes of this other than a damn fine sandwich._

She saw her guest follow the hostess onto the patio and took a deep breath. _Look for the positives._

"Hello, Lianne."


	11. Day 11: Platform

_A/N:_ _Fair warning...lots of original characters in here. Irv, Bob, and Mady were introduced in Dissolutioned, on LoVe's fateful vacation. They're important people to L &V now. There's also a couple of new ones for today, Josh and Heidi. Don't worry, I doubt you'll ever see them again._

* * *

 **July 22, 2008**

"Boo!" Logan and Veronica joined the rest of the crowd loudly mocking the couple on the platform, currently on trial for whatever nonsensical charges had been dreamed up for this year's Pony Penning tourist trial.

"Put 'em away, Judge," Veronica yelled to Irv, and he laughed as he pointed his gavel at her and shook his head.

"It's better being on this side, right?" Logan shouted in her ear to be heard over the ruckus of the crowd and she nodded, then rose on her toes, directing her voice to him.

"It was good up there too. They definitely showed us a good time."

"They sure did," Logan said, right before a whacking sound rang out and Irv's voice carried over the spectators from his elevated position, "Guilty! Of all charges!" The crowd went wild.

After several moments of excited chaos, the viewers began to dissipate, and Logan tugged Veronica forward to where Irv was talking with the new convicts and Bob. At their approach, Irv pointed his gavel at them again, a huge smile on his face.

"Ahh, here we go. Proof that criminals can be rehabilitated. Josh and Heidi, meet last year's outlaws, Logan and Veronica." There were greetings and handshakes all around before Irv reached out and pulled Veronica into a one-armed hug which she returned.

"Rehabilitated, Irv? Do you really think so?" She stuck her foot out and rotated it in front of her. "I do have boots on this year, but other than that, I'm still as much of a criminal as I was when you railroaded us last year."

He shrugged and nodded. "I don't disagree. Probably more so since you're not even a Fed anymore."

"You miss my point, old man. We were railroaded. And come on, working for the government didn't make me less of a criminal, just less likely to be prosecuted." There was loud laughter throughout the group.

"Well I, for one, have never had the protection of employment at the FBI," Logan chimed in. "But I have gone a whole year without an arrest, so I think I'm definitely on the straight and narrow."

Veronica burst into mocking laughter and Irv scoffed. "You know, most people would think that's a joke, but I've done a background check on you, kid, and I know how true that really is."

"Hey, I was deadly serious."

"See what marriage can do for a man," Bob said. "Made you upstanding."

"I don't think that's what marriage to this one would do." Irv raised one eyebrow, mouth twisted with a skeptical sneer, as he squeezed Veronica's shoulders. Her mouth dropped open in mock outrage. "Now, come on, don't get like that, missy. I spent a lot of time with your dad when we came out for your reception last year. I've got the straight scoop on you right from the horse's mouth."

"Now, come on, Irv," Logan said, his warning tone belied by his grin, "if you did that much research, you have to know I can't just stand here and listen to you bad mouth her like that."

Veronica snorted. "What? That's all he does. What have you ever done about it?" She looked at the tourists who were watching them all like they were the free entertainment. "He makes fun of my eating...all the time."

"Same as pretty much everyone else who knows you," Logan replied. "If I went around beating up everyone who ever suggested that you can eat your weight in manicotti, I'd never stop hitting people." She made a sound of mock outrage, but then shrugged and nodded.

"That's probably true."

"Hey, all of you." Mady appeared for the first time all evening, looking irritated. "What's the hold-up? We need to get Josh and Heidi over to the Hall for dinner." She re-directed herself to Logan and Veronica, a grin breaking across her face. "You guys are coming, right? I made sure the kitchen doubled the pasta order, since Veronica was going to be there. If you don't come, we're going to be swimming in leftovers."

Laughter burst from the group again, except for Veronica, who threw up her hands.

"See what I mean?" Logan said to the newcomers, then wrapped his arm around Veronica and pulled her toward him. "Come on, Bobcat, better get to dinner. They're waiting for you."


End file.
